Those Who Have Been Broken
by MoonlightTyger
Summary: If Sephiroth can inherit all of Jenova's abilities, is it possible that the inverse is true...and she can copy and absorb abilities and knowledge from him as well? She has bided her time for over 2000 years...but now it is time to strike. Eventual Sephiroth redemption fic. [Follows the original 1997 game and Compilation canon, not necessarily the Remake's.]
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to _Final Fantasy VII _or any of its Compilation. I am merely a fan who hasn't had her fill of these amazing characters; this fic is written for pleasure only, not for profit.

_Finally, after years of sitting on it, I am happy to present this first part of my main FFVII work. Please enjoy :)_

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**Those Who Have Been Broken**

**-prologue-**

* * *

Some planets fell slower than others. Some quicker.

Seek, Infect, Destroy.

Each world she had come to inhabit presented different challenges - or rather, different variations of the same challenge. For it didn't matter how long she had to wait...what deceptions she had to employ...it all ended in her triumph. Another world devoured, another world conquered...another world left a lifeless husk while she moved on to the next target.

Seek. Infect. Destroy.

Of all her conquests, _this _planet had proven the most unique, the most _resistant_. The people here had found a way to trap her, binding her body with ribbons of green and sealing her away within the ice.

No matter, she would wait.

"_A human with the abilities of an Ancient? How lucrative…"_

It had paid off.

She had never had an offspring before. Her conquests were just that; she spread her seed the only way she knew how. But these humans had shown her an entirely different process, one that involved the genes of not a single organism but two. She could feel her own cells...first bonding - infecting - the larval human, then multiplying and growing as it did. A biological process she had forgotten all about.

"_Your mother's name was Jenova."_

('Son'? Was that the human word for it? This little thing with silver hair and only five limbs?)

"_She died giving birth to you."_

Her son was perfect. He had grown up remarkably: intelligent, strong...built with her own cells and clever at manipulating them in ways she had never dreamed of. He thought bigger and better. Visions of bright futures and conquests, traveling the cosmos and creating worlds of boundless opportunity…

Yes, yes. They would conquer the universe in _this_ way...her ever-brilliant, her most powerful son. She had learned so much watching him...and now they would rise, infecting the planet once more and twisting its curtain of glowing life into one of death and darkness. They would roam the cosmos just as he wanted...then strike and devour as she craved.

"_Rise, my son. Our time of slumber is over."_

* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTES_

Looking at end-of-March for Chapter 1. I'm working on freelancing as well as original works, so please bear with me. If you enjoyed, leave me a review; it encourages me to keep going! Thank you!


	2. Chapter I: No Rest for the Righteous

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Final Fantasy VII or any of its Compilation. I am merely a fan who hasn't had her fill of these amazing characters; this fic is written for pleasure only, not for profit._

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**.:Chapter I:.  
-No Rest for the Righteous-**

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The sun was just beginning to set when Cloud Strife turned his motorcycle back toward Edge. His deliveries for the day were complete at last, and he was ready for a home-cooked meal and a hot shower.

Home. How strangely wonderful it felt to say that.

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

It had been four years since Meteorfall, two years since the advent of Geostigma, and six months since Deepground's emergence and subsequent defeat by Vincent, AVALANCHE, and the WRO. A few extant cases of Geostigma had popped up, but now they were equipped to handle it. Things had, for the moment, settled down. Cloud really hoped they stayed that way this time.

After the defeat of Deepground, he and Tifa had gone back to Edge with Denzel and Marlene. His delivery service kept him running all over the place, but he made sure to keep in touch when it did, talking on the phone to Tifa and the kids when business kept him away for longer periods than a day. When Barret wasn't working, he came home to Seventh Heaven as well.

Vincent, the immortal ex-Turk, had not gone back to Nibelheim after the Deepground incident - instead, he and the ex-Tsviet, Shelke Rui, had begun working with the World Regenesis Organization and Reeve. Like Barret, they both came home to Edge when they were not on duty, Shelke becoming something of an adopted daughter to the caped marksman. The situation, while not typical, suited the two very well: Shelke had inherited Lucrecia's memories, after all, which had helped Vincent when he needed it. And of course, neither she nor Vincent aged.

Yuffie, the young Wutaiese princess, was supposed to have returned to her homeland after their last save-the-world mission...however, as of late she had spent more and more time in Edge with Tifa and Cloud as things at home had grown more and more tense: as the only child of Godo Kisaragi, there were certain customs and requirements that one of her station was expected to adhere to...namely, finding a husband and continuing the royal line.

Yuffie, of course, had no desire for such pomp and circumstance.

Nanaki had returned to Cosmo Canyon, though he traveled frequently, and Cid and Shera continued to reside in Rocket Town (when they weren't off ferrying the WRO around, anyway). Reeve was constantly busy, but there was progress.

Rufus Shinra remained low-profile. Though it was Sephiroth who had physically committed such atrocities against the planet and people of it, Shin-Ra had had no small hand in it, and Rufus felt a great amount of responsibility for what had happened. The Turks had shown up in Seventh Heaven no small amount of times, but they were (usually) friendly when they did.

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

The bar was busy when Cloud pulled up, as was typical for that time of day. Adults getting off work, families coming in to have dinner together. Cloud parked the Fenrir in the alleyway behind and entered the bar through the back door.

"Cloud!" Had it really only been four years ago that Denzel had come to live with them? Cloud smiled, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry I'm late; ran into some monsters outside town. How've things been today?"

"Pretty good. Marlene's in the bar helping Tifa out."

"I figured. Patrons are behaving themselves?"

"No problems yet," Denzel shrugged. For awhile, business at the bar had waned as knowledge of Denzel's Geostigma spread. Now that it had been healed, people were coming again. Seventh Heaven was filled almost every single night.

Cloud went upstairs to put his swords away, Denzel at his heels. He rolled his shoulders to get out the kinks, then headed downstairs again. There had been a few rowdier people coming into the bar lately, and while Tifa was more than capable of handling an aggressive customer, the presence of an "ex-SOLDIER" and his mako-glow eyes usually assured she did not have to.

Tifa was bustling around when he entered, and Denzel hurried to help out. On the far side of the bar, Marlene cheerfully passed out a family's drinks. Cloud smiled fondly at the little girl who had turned eight not long ago. When she turned around, she caught Cloud's eye and hurried over, giving him a quick hug before going on to grab the next customer's order. Tifa soon noticed his presence as well, and greeted him warmly before hurrying to fill another round, and Cloud settled into his customary spot near the front.

_Home._ How truly blessed he was to say that.

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

The clock chimed eight-thirty, and Tifa announced "last drinks". Some of the patrons grumbled, but those were the breaks. Too many of their customers were families, and schools had been rebuilt now. There were plenty of other bars in the city from which to choose.

At nine, Cloud walked over and flipped the bar sign from 'Open' to 'Closed' and by nine-fifteen, the last patron had left, tired of Cloud's mako-gaze boring into him.

"Grab those receipts and we'll start tallying everything up," he instructed the children. Denzel had finished wiping down the rest of the tables, so he settled at the one nearest Tifa while Marlene grabbed the order slips from her. Their hours were not typical for a bar, but closing earlier on weeknights ensured the children could spend time with Cloud. Sorting receipts and washing dishes was not glamorous work, but they loved hearing about his travels and all those foreign places. Tifa looked forward to this part of the evening: even if they were all busy, at least they were together.

Hopefully, the peace would last this time.

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

The perks of more people coming to the bar again was that there was more money. The downside? More dirty dishes. At last, at ten-fifteen, Tifa could put down her rag and breathe.

"Business is still picking up, huh?" Cloud asked, descending the stairs after tucking in Marlene and Denzel. The latter was almost ten, but until he complained he was 'too old' for such things, Cloud and Tifa would continue to indulge him. "It's taking us longer to clean up now, even though we close earlier."

"It does." Tifa let the sink drain and wiped off her hands, glasses drying for tomorrow's activities. Cloud sat down on one of the sofas, and after hanging the rag over the faucet to dry, Tifa came to join him.

"How was your day?" she asked. He smiled.

"Good," he said. "Honestly...really good. Yours?"

"It was nice," she said, nodding. "_Busy_, but...nice. It seems like...things are finally settling down now."

"It'd be nice not to have to run off and save the world for awhile," he said.

"It would. The kids are settling into school nicely, too." A comfortable silence. Cloud put an arm around Tifa, pulling her close. This really was the perfect ending to such a nice-

_Wark wark wark! Wark wark wark! Phone call! Phone call! Wark wark wark-_

"What is that?" Tifa asked in amusement, watching as Cloud picked up his cellphone and rolled his eyes.

"Marlene must have changed it," he said. She or Reno were the only ones he'd know of who'd pull something like this, but he made darn sure not to let Reno anywhere near his phone the unfortunate times they worked together. "Hello?"

"Cloud?"

"Vincent?" Cloud sat up now, leaning forward on the sofa. Tifa moved with him, fully alert...and worried. If Vincent was calling at this hour of the night…

"...There's a situation," he said. "How soon can you and Tifa get to Healen?"

"Vincent, what's going on?"

"I'll explain in more detail when you get here," Vincent said. "Cid's gone to pick up Barret and Nanaki." Cloud exchanged a frown with Tifa. Vincent's next words chilled them.

"The short of it is...Jenova's returned. And she's brought Sephiroth back _with_ her."

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

"How can he be alive _again?_" Cloud asked, grabbing some supplies and shoving them into a knapsack. For Gaia's sake, why couldn't the creep just _stay_ dead? Cloud glowered; his ex-general _had_ threatened he would 'never be a memory'. Perhaps he should have taken Sephiroth at his word.

"How did he resurrect himself last time?" Tifa asked. _Or the time before **that**,_ she silently added. She set her bag on Cloud's bed, then hurried to her own room to make it up for Elmyra. She had called the older woman straight away after hearing Vincent's news; Elmyra had readily agreed to watch over Denzel and Marlene and manage the bar while they went to see Rufus.

"Some mumbo-jumbo about Jenova's cells and memory fragments," Cloud said, following her. She looked at him and jerked her head at the sheets. Obligingly, Cloud went to the other side and grabbed hold, pulling them up and folding as she did. "Honestly, I'm not even sure what the heck that's supposed to mean. You'd have to ask him. Or the Remnants."

(Tifa actually _didn't_ feel the need to ask him or the Remnants.)

"Cloud?" Marlene had woken up, clutching her Chocobo plushie. "Tifa? What's...going on? Why are you _making_ your bed when it's time to sleep?"

"Yeah, and why's there stuff all over Cloud's bed?" Denzel was awake too, standing in the doorway with wide eyes as he took in the activity.

"There's an emergency," Tifa said. "Cloud and I have to go to Healen; Elmyra's going to come stay with you and Marlene."

"What's...happened?" Denzel asked, voice serious.

"We're not really sure," Cloud answered, walking over to ruffle the kid's hair. "Vincent...wasn't able to explain everything over the phone. He just said that Tifa and I have to go see President Shin-Ra."

"Now?!" Denzel looked at the darkened bedroom window as if to say, 'It's the middle of the night!' Cloud put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah," he said, giving Denzel a nod. "Now." The almost-eleven-year-old looked at the ground.

"Hey — look at me," he said, giving Denzel's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Denzel raised his eyes to meet Cloud's. "We're going to come back. We've beaten the bad guys before; we'll do it again." No way was anyone — especially some bloody alien and her so-called silver-haired 'son' — coming between Cloud and his family. Not anymore. At last, Denzel returned Cloud's subtle smile with a similar expression.

"Can we help?" Marlene asked softly, and Tifa nodded at her.

"Why don't you finish helping me make this bed, and Cloud and Denzel can get everything loaded onto Fenrir?" she suggested, and Marlene hurried to stand at the corner of the bed Cloud had vacated. Denzel ran to get his shoes on. Once the room was to Tifa's satisfaction, she and Marlene went downstairs to pack some food and sort out what materia they might need. She would leave some with the children, too, just in case.

"You remember how to use these, right?" Tifa asked, handing Marlene an extra Sense and some other elemental spells. Marlene nodded.

"Denzel and me have been practicing almost every day, just like you taught us," she answered, and Tifa seemed to relax a little. Marlene looked up at her, young eyes grave. "Do you think you'll be gone very long?" she asked. Tifa drew her close in a hug. Was she thinking of Aerith?

"I don't know," she said honestly, pulling away to look at the little girl. "We could be gone for a few days; we could be gone for a couple weeks." She would not suffix that with 'or months'; she would not entertain the idea that they could be away any longer than that.

"Everything ready here?" Cloud asked, himself and Denzel coming back into the kitchen. Tifa gave him a nod in response, and the little family went together out the back door.

"Elmyra will be on the first train out here," Tifa told the children. "You two will be able to manage until then, right?" Denzel and Marlene nodded in response, Marlene moving suddenly to wrap her arms tightly around Tifa's waist.

"Please be careful…" she said, voice muffled in the woman's side. Tifa pulled her close again, wishing she could offer more than scant promises.

"We will be," she said, giving Marlene the only guarantee she could. To her surprise, Denzel also came and wrapped his arms around her.

"Promise?" he asked, looking worriedly up at her. She returned his hug with her other arm.

"Of course." She pulled both children to her in as tight an embrace as she could. They were having a much harder time of this than she had thought...and so was she. When Cloud had gone away because of his Geostigma, they'd at least had her. Now both she and Cloud were needed; what if neither of them came back? What if Barret didn't?

She started as strong arms came and wrapped around all three of them from the other side.

"Tifa will come back to you safe and sound," Cloud promised, meeting first the children's eyes and then hers. Something caught in her throat. "I'll make sure of that." The family stood like that for some moments longer, none of them wanting to break the embrace...until, at last, Cloud pulled away.

"We should get going," he said, offering them a sallow smile. He looked to the kids once more. "Take care of each other, and do everything to help Mrs. Gainsborough just like you would if Tifa and I were here."

"We love you," Tifa said, climbing on the bike behind Cloud. He pulled on his goggles, and they drove away into the night.

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

The sun was just beginning to rise when Fenrir finally arrived at Healen, where Shin-Ra had been headquartered since Meteorfall. Rude and Reno were waiting for them atop the stairs of the building; it was comparatively larger than the other dwellings in town, but nevertheless miniscule when one took into account how huge the Shin-Ra Building had been in Midgar. Rufus had downsized quite a bit since the near-apocalypse they had all experienced three-and-a-half years ago.

"Cloud, Tifa — welcome." Rude's greeting was polite but grave, and not even Reno had a smart remark to add. "This way." The pair followed the Turks inside and down a hall to a code-locked room.

"So it's really true?" Tifa asked, finally breaking the silence. The somber mood of the two could not be missed. "Jenova is back? And Sephiroth, too?" Reno cast her a look over his shoulder.

"...It's true," he said, after a pause. "There's, ah...something else, too." He punched in another code, and the door slid open. Cloud gasped.

"Hello, Big Brother."

_"Kadaj?"_

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

_AUTHOR'S NOTES:_

I hope it sounds okay. I had some writer's block and it was really rough to get all the pieces into place, but I was _really_ determined that I get this out by the end of this week like I said I would! (It was published by 11:55 on dA, so I think that still counts, right? ;)

Some of you will notice that I have increased the time it takes to get to Healen from Edge. I got ahold of a map with ALL the cities from the Compilation on it, and it turns out Healen is halfway across the continent from Midgar/Edge.

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed.

Keep on Rockin' in 2020!  
~MoonlightTyger


	3. Chapter II: Dead Men CAN Tell Tales

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to _Final Fantasy VII _or any of its Compilation. I am merely a fan who hasn't had her fill of these amazing characters. This fic is written for pleasure only, not for profit._

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**.:Chapter II:.  
-Dead Men CAN Tell Tales-**

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Cloud drew a breath as he took in the all-too-solid form of the Remnant. It was impossible! Kadaj had died in his arms! He had dispersed into pyreflies after that fight over the Midgar ruins...fatally wounded by the Omnislash that Cloud had finished Sephiroth off with.

"How…"

"Surprised to see us?" The drawl could not be mistaken — and surely enough, Yazoo stepped into view, followed closely by Loz, whose smile held none of the menace they'd witnessed during their original encounter. Tifa's brow furrowed as she looked past Cloud and the Turks to observe the three young men in the doorway. Something about them seemed different. They seemed...amenable. At peace, even.

"It's okay, Big Brother," Kadaj said, "we're part of the good guys, now." Cloud's eyebrows flew up, as did Tifa's. A glance at the Turks; Reno shrugged.

"Like they said when they showed up...if they really wanted to hurt anyone, they could have."

"Vincent seems to think they're sincere," Rude said.

"Vincent?"

"Come in, Brother," Kadaj spoke up. "And we'll explain what we can. It's complicated. We are not the same people who fought against you before." Cloud glanced at Tifa. He could hear her heart thudding, but she nodded. Vincent would not have led them into a trap, and Shin-Ra _had _demonstrated a desire to right the wrongs they'd helped create. She and Cloud would hear the Remnants out. Cloud turned back to them.

"All right then," he said, and Kadaj seemed to relax. They stepped back, and the four followed them into the room.

"Cloud, Tifa — welcome," Rufus stood from behind his desk, striding over to join them. Tifa looked around; Cloud had been here several times by now, but she rarely had a reason to enter the company's new headquarters. Photos and a couple of paintings sparsely dotted the wooden walls. Simple end tables held simple decorations and the occasional Wutaian flower arrangement.

Nothing like the gaudy trimmings of the old Shin-Ra Building. To say she didn't believe Rufus when he said he wanted to make amends...she did. He had consistently put his money where his mouth was. To say she didn't sometimes wonder whether or not his motives were wholly selfless...well, she couldn't help but question that, too. Perhaps the decor was an outward reflection of a truly changed man, or perhaps they only reflected what Rufus wanted people to see.

Kadaj led them to a sitting area, then turned to Rude.

"How much time do we have?" he asked.

"Highwind radioed; he'll be arriving with the others within the hour. Valentine is supposed to be filling them in on his end." Cloud squinted at him, but neither Turk nor Remnant seemed to notice.

"Well...let's get down to business on _our _end, then, shall we?" Kadaj said. "Please, Brother -Sister - have a seat." Tifa glanced at Cloud, who gave a slight shake of his head. What was _this_ now? He and Tifa weren't married; they didn't even share a room! Slowly, they sank into the cushions behind them, Rufus to their left. Tseng approached the front.

"About two weeks ago, we received some disturbing reports from Icicle Town," he said. "Citizens were disappearing. At first, it was thought that monsters were responsible-"

"Well, that's not entirely wrong," Yazoo interjected. Tseng raised an eyebrow.

"-but later reports confirm that a woman sporting silver hair was said to have met with all of those who went missing. Five days after the incidents at Icicle Village, we began receiving similar accounts from Modeoheim. Just over a week ago, we received one from-"

"Bone Village," Cloud finished, and Tseng nodded.

"Bone Village," he confirmed. "She's moving down the continent, attacking villages in her wake. Some were killed, some escaped, and several others developed Geostigma."

"So she can control them later," Cloud concluded.

"Her or Sephiroth," Kadaj spoke up. "I don't know that Jenova has the mental capacity to control people as he does. She is still more or less a virus." Cloud looked at him, eyebrow cocked.

"No 'Mother' this time?" he asked, and Kadaj smirked.

"Oh, there's a 'mother', all right - it simply isn't Jenova," he said. He drew a breath, looking at his brothers. "Perhaps now would be a good time for us to interject."

"Explain what you're doing alive again?" Cloud drawled. The initial shock had worn off, even more so now that they were discussing Sephiroth and JENOVA. The creep had managed to resurrect himself no less than _three_ times now, after all...why should it be so impossible for his Remnants? Kadaj inclined his head.

"We were dead until about two weeks ago, ourselves," he said, frowning. "We've learned a lot since our time in the Lifestream; your friends Aerith and Zack treat us as our own persons, and as part of their family. That's all we've ever desired - a family." _All Sephiroth ever desired, too_, Kadaj thought privately. That was partially why the instinct of that monster had been able to take such hold upon him. Yes, he and his brothers had learned _quite _a bit since they'd died.

"You saw Aerith?" Tifa gasped. Kadaj smiled fondly.

"It is she who taught us everything we know now," Yazoo said, and Loz nodded his agreement. "She and Zack."

"Zack, too?" Cloud's eyes widened, and - had they been looking - they would have seen an (almost) indiscernible change in Tseng's otherwise stony facade. The "boys" had been _very_ different when they had first shown up at the new Shin-Ra HQ; the arrogance that Sephiroth's memories had bred into them had matured into a quiet confidence, and they possessed knowledge of things only a select few could know...a "select few" that included several deceased members of Shin-Ra. Tseng had wondered if Zack knew how he still agonized over the SOLDIER's death, if he could see his friends from his position in the Afterlife...or if he had, indeed, already been recycled.

"_Zack has spoken of you, too," Kadaj said then, staring down Tseng's gun barrel unflinchingly. The Turk's expression didn't change but for a minute tightening in his jaw, one that without Kadaj's inherited enhancements he never would have caught. "He knows how you tried. He is happy; he is at peace. And he would want you to be at peace, too."_

_Rufus glanced at his head of security; his eyesight did not need to be on par with the Remnant's to know Tseng was shaken. He turned his attention back to Kadaj and his brothers: the boys were...different. Calm._

"_You know as well as I do that that weapon has nothing on us," Kadaj said, hands still up, but voice even. "We have no delusions of world domination. Your Turks are formidable, but they are no match for us — we who each wield a third of Sephiroth's power." A third of Sephiroth's _immeasurable _power, Rufus remembered, for the Silver General had once confided (to Zack who had confided to Tseng who had then confided to Rufus himself), that for all his strength he had only ever used a fraction of it. A 'fraction', Rufus thought dismally, that was apparently enough to hurl a supernova at the planet. Rufus wasn't sure if that was even Sephiroth's _real '_Limit Break', given the aforementioned knowledge about the former SOLDIER's abilities, but it didn't seem appropriate to label Supernova anything else._

"_If we wanted to take over Shin-Ra - over the _world - _we would have walked in here and done it," Yazoo spoke up. _

"_We are here to _help_," Loz finished. "Not hurt."_

_Rufus lowered his barrel, and Tseng, after a moment, did the same._

"We were _happy_, there, in the Lifestream with them," Kadaj said. He shook his head, then raised his eyes again to look at Cloud and Tifa. "Our oldest memory is a desire to be with 'Mother'. We only knew what Sephiroth gave us, and we were acting on his desires without understanding it."

"Jenova is the one who resurrected us," Yazoo spoke up. He frowned, and Cloud squinted.

"How...is that even possible?" he asked. JENOVA had been comatose, or perhaps 'in stasis' (to use a more accurate term). She wasn't _capable_ of complex thought, much less orchestrating a world-domination plot. That had been all Sephiroth...hadn't it? Arguments about the ex-SOLDIER's sanity aside, he'd been the one controlling JENOVA, not the other way around!

"She was..._comatose_, wasn't she?" Tifa asked, giving voice to the very thoughts that had been running through Cloud's own head. Kadaj drew a breath.

"We don't understand the technicalities of her DNA ourselves," he said. "Zack could explain it better, but what we do know is that we, as an extension of her, are capable of altering our appearance, great feats of strength, and enhanced physical senses such as sight, hearing, smell-"

"Levitation and summoning meteors?" Reno added sardonically.

"_Supernovas_," Yazoo corrected, the side of his mouth raising in a smirk, "and no. That's something only _he_ can do."

"Really?" Cloud asked. He'd never heard _that_. The boys nodded at him.

"Really," Kadaj said. "We gained a vast majority of his abilities - much as yourself - but not all of them. As for Jenova…what we do know is based in instinct or what Zack and Aerith have told us. The Planet itself is not aware of all Jenova's abilities.

"One technical thing we _do_ know, is that her cells in some instances can also act as a two-way conduit: she can absorb the traits of monsters and transfer her abilities to them." Cloud nodded; this sounded familiar. "We believe it is this two-way conduit that has allowed her to come back as she is now: Sephiroth has gained her abilities...and she in turn has gained all of his knowledge."

"And now she's brought him back, too," Yazoo said.

"I don't understand," Tifa said. "Why bring him back if she knows what he was planning to do?" JENOVA didn't seem to be the team-player type. Did she even know what that was? Did _she_ think of Sephiroth as her son as much as he thought of her as 'Mother'? Clearly she had lost favor with the three silver-haired youths before them...though Aerith's own maternal nature was certainly a hard act for a _virus_ to compete with.

"For that matter, you haven't said what she wanted with you," Cloud said. The youths' expressions became varying degrees of dismay and anger, much to his and Tifa's surprise.

"Manipulation," Kadaj said. His voice remained calm, but now there was a definite edge to it. "We awoke at the Northern Crater and she stood over us, no longer a...a _blob_ of any kind but instead a fully-formed 'human' female."

"With blue skin and silver hair," Yazoo interjected. Kadaj glared at him, but rolled his eyes and then continued.

"With blue skin and silver hair," he repeated. "She still wears her helmet, too. When she greeted us, she spoke of infecting the world and using it to 'sail the Cosmos'."

"...Just as her 'son' wanted to," Cloud said, thinking back to what Sephiroth had said to him before they'd fought over Midgar's ruins.

"When we refused, she attacked us," Kadaj said. He shrugged, but Tifa had to wonder if he was as nonchalant about it as he pretended to be. "We don't know if her intention was to try and _force_ us to do her bidding, but _we_ had no intention of letting her walk out of that fight alive."

"But she did, obviously," Cloud said, and Kadaj glared.

"She did," he said. "We have some knowledge of Ancients, but not all. Unlike Sephiroth, we still need materia to cast, and we had none. We weakened her, but she was able to make her escape." He shook his head, angry at the memory.

"Sephiroth was not with her when she resurrected us," Loz said. "We think we were first."

"She thought we would be easier to manipulate," Yazoo added, for the Remnants were certain that's what Jenova's intentions for Sephiroth himself were, if the creature were of the mind that it could comprehend that much. "She seems to recognize that she is missing something; she can absorb Sephiroth's knowledge, but she lacks understanding of the subtext that goes with it...the subtext that he could only have gleaned and still maintains because of his human elements."

"He thinks bigger than she does," Cloud said, and they nodded.

"Exactly," Kadaj said. "But it will all end the same way. Jenova does not know anything except infection and destruction. If it were to start with his 'shining future', I doubt it will end that way." He frowned. Zack had told him stories about the Silver General before his descent into madness. He believed Sephiroth had had _some_ semblance of independent thought, back at Nibelheim...but it had not been enough. He had never been a 'puppet' in the same way as Cloud and the others, but neither was he immune from the alien instincts that had quite literally been bred into him. The thoughts and desires were no longer fully his, merely what the human part of him had interpreted as his. Jenova's instinct on its own did not make sense, and humans had to make sense of everything.

"So what happens now?" Cloud asked.

"We can defeat Jenova, but we are not so certain about Sephiroth," Kadaj said. "We don't know what he's learned in the meantime, and we don't know how much Jenova continues to learn with him. What we do know is that they intend to commandeer the planet itself. Their next destination will likely be Edge...or here." Kadaj sounded so sure, and Cloud felt dread and irritation coming over him. Oh, no...that creep _wasn't_...

"Why here or Edge?" Tifa asked. "Population size? Besides, Sephiroth would know we're in Edge...and Cloud can beat him..."

"Exactly," Yazoo purred. "He'll have a score to settle." Kadaj smirked, and Cloud drew a breath in annoyance, massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

_Why couldn't the creep just_ stay _dead?! _

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

_AUTHOR'S NOTES:_

(Gah. This isn't my best work, and for that I apologize. Also...a big thank-you to my buddy rai0sun for keeping me motivated to finish this chapter before posting anything for any other fandoms :P)

So this chapter was initially supposed to look very different and two beloved characters were supposed to show up. However, the seemingly little details that had to change in the first chapter ended up having a snowball effect, and so significant alterations had to be made in this one. I'll need to do a little more fleshing-out of the whole thing before I can write a new chapter; I know _where_ I want it to go, it's just _getting_ it there.

I'm going to place a VERY tentative ETA on Chapter 3 as, "end of May". If you've been to my main page over on DeviantArt, you'll know that I'm currently in the process of looking for new employment (I haven't _quit_, I'm just actively looking because Too Many Issues), so that will eat up a lot of my time and mental energy over the next few weeks.

\- Sephiroth is the only one of the SOLDIERs who demonstrates any kind of ability for teleportation or levitation _outside_ his Final Boss incarnation (he can fly without his wings). While JENOVA grants a host extra abilities, she also seems to enhance a person's natural abilities herself. Thus, I'm of the mind that Sephiroth would have had some psychic ability anyway, but combined with J-cells this made him a really really powerful one (those of you familiar with the _Pokémon _anime may remember the episodes with a creepy Gym Leader Sabrina. Yeah, he can do THAT stuff...minus transmutation. If they don't have JENOVA cells, obviously).

\- The JENOVA/Jenova is a deliberate stylistic choice on my part that makes sense to me right now. I may change it later depending on how the story unfolds.

Thank you all for reading! Keep on rockin' in 2020!  
~MoonlightTyger


	4. Chapter III: The Best Revenge is

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to _Final Fantasy VII _or any of its Compilation. I am merely a fan who hasn't had her fill of these amazing characters. This is a fic written for pleasure only, not for profit._

* * *

**.:Chapter III:.  
****-The Best Revenge is...Revenge-**

* * *

Those three would pay dearly. To attack..._her?_ She who had lent her strength to them, she who had helped create them and blessed them with her appearance...to attack _her?_

Her firstborn was strong, and there were none more loyal than he. She had brought back the others that they might further and assist her and their species' cause...but the three had betrayed them, instead.

_That Ancient poisoned them against us, _the thought echoed through her mind. Another face appeared in her thoughts: raven hair feathered in spikes and glowing blue eyes. Yes...he was just as guilty as the female.

_Traitors must be punished._

"What is our next step, Mother?" Sephiroth asked, looking to her for instruction, as he always did. She smiled. Her most loyal, most brilliant offspring.

"You know more than I, my dearest son," the creature said, reaching out to cup his cheek in her palm, as the recesses of thought from the Lifestream told her mothers sometimes did. Hands...hands and arms and legs and feet were so wonderful to have! Why had she waited so long to try this form out in full? It was a wonderful design!

"What manner of strategy would be best?" she asked then. Her son knew so much: she had been with him when he had fought in that war, rising to power among the humans' greatest pack, the Shin-Ra. An odd pecking order, but it seemed to work for them for there were no territories they had not conquered in the end. Their only flaw was in being unable to continue this conquest and move to other planets. If only they had listened to her son: he could have helped them! Implanting her cells on these species using the planet's own currents...and using those in turn to infect it as a whole! It was the principle she had always played by, but she could never have conceived doing it on such a _large_ scale.

Her son never had a problem thinking big. Nor did he have a problem going out and making those thoughts reality.

Golden hair rose in her mind.

"You want to defeat your rival," she said. There was no need to ask why; she knew all about it: gods did not fall to mortals.

"He is all that stands in the way of our victory, Mother," Sephiroth answered. The others could be dispensed with easily enough once Cloud was gone.

"I see." Another brilliant point. "Shall we go to him? There will be many minds to feast upon…" Sephiroth thought for a moment, then a smirk scrawled across his face.

"...Or we could let him come to us," he replied. Cloud had humiliated him more than once; he must be taught a lesson. He was a puppet..._always_ a puppet. Sephiroth would take great pleasure in reminding Cloud that _he _still held the strings. The humans were nothing before his and Mother's might...Cloud and his friends were not the only ones who had betrayed Sephiroth so openly, but they were the only ones who had succeeded in killing him. He would make an example of them first...and then the smartest of the petty flock would surely submit to his will.

_Survival of the fittest_, Jenova thought, as the process worked its way through Sephiroth's mind. And he was the fittest of all.

Cloud would chase him. Sephiroth's smirk deepened at the knowledge. Cloud would chase him to the ends of Gaia just as he had before...only to discover that Sephiroth had been leading him all along.

"Nibelheim," Sephiroth said at last, turning to Jenova. "It is a place that holds terrible memories for Cloud and his pathetic lackeys." A place that still held regret for Shin-Ra and a good many of its remaining employees, too. Yes. It would be perfect, karmatic, _poetic_...for their final defeat to take place in the same town as his first. To cut those wounds deep and long before at last he ended their existences… they would know how it felt... to be betrayed and injured so thoroughly. How horrible must his people have suffered to have their planet ripped away by such an inferior species...such ungrateful brutes! They would hurt only as much as they deserved, only as much as his fellow Ancients had at the hands of _their_ kind!

"I should like to go there, Mother, if you will agree," he said. "Cloud and his friends will surely follow, and that will be their undoing. It will be a fitting ending to the people who betrayed your children...who betrayed my brothers and sisters." Shin-Ra, too, held unhappy memories of the town: they had covered it up, his razing of the village. The deaths of their other friends and their failures to protect them from his rage.

_Yes._

There would be nothing left to cover up this time...nobody left to do the covering. He would see to that. And then this planet would be theirs to take...theirs to sail the cosmos, theirs to create the future.

Jenova smiled again, and turned to follow Sephiroth down the path. This would take them to the ocean...and from there, to Costa Del Sol...and Nibelheim.

Her brilliant, devious son.

**.:I:I:V:I:I:.****.:I:I:V:I:I:.**

_AUTHOR'S NOTES:_

So sorry for the delay; a coworker of mine ended up moving her wedding to this week instead of this fall...and being a creative person, I decided to put my English degree to good use and write her a personalized poem as part of her gift. It took a few days to finish, and of course that took precedence over a fanfiction.

Chapter 4 will be released no later than September 1st and no earlier than July 31st. I had something of an epiphany a few days ago. I'm very unhappy with several things in my life, but of course _I_ need to take charge of it if I want anything to change. Therefore, I have decided to take July and August as 'focus months' to finish my novel, finish original works, get more in shape, and basically try and move my life in a more positive and fulfilling direction. This does not mean I will be writing _no _fanfiction...but it _does_ mean that I'll be writing less of it. There are several smaller plot bunnies I have right now for different fandoms so I may be posting something here and there, and I may be doing a Christmas in July fic as well...but for the next two months my major focus needs to be on improving myself and improving my life.

Thank you all for your continued patience and support. I will try and keep people more abreast of updates or changes, both on my main profile page and dA :)

Thank you all for reading; leave a review if you liked it!

Keep on Rockin' in 2020!  
~MoonlightTyger


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